Selling our house but no viewings

lessonlearned

I think you house is absolutely lovely. Whilst all of the suggestions are helpful and valid I really don't think any of the issues raised are deal breakers. Your house is beautifully presented and in a buoyant market it would be snapped up.

I cannot comment about the price but I would have said it is excellent value. There's a lot of house for the money plus a very useful outbuilding - perfect for developing into a studio or office.

I think it's just the market. You might see an upsurge in the Spring but it's getting close to Christmas now so don't hold your breath for much interest just now.

Yes you could reduce the price but you would have to slash it, not just reduce it by £2.5k.

You say you have to sell because you need to accommodate a relative.

May I throw in a curved ball. No-one has mentioned this but I think it's worth considering.

Can you let it out for now and then rent something larger to accommodate you all. A bungalow perhaps if your relative has health issues.

Most lenders will allow a 12 month "accidental landlord" arrangement. They might up the interest rate slightly but you wouldn't necessarily have to remortgage and obtain a Buy-to-Let mortgage at least not for a year.

It would give you a years breathing space and it would be better than slashing the price.

namecheck

I agree with lessonlearned.

Price is generally the issue when a property does not sell. However, this is not necessarily the problem if almost nothing in the area is selling.

I, too, think your house looks great and I would have thought it would make an ideal buy for a holiday let. I'm sure there is a lettings website which also has properties for sale (but I can't remember it at the moment).

I'm not sure about the idea of renting out your home temporarily but it would depend on what the rental market is like in the area.

I noticed that cars seem to be parked onto the pavement in your road - but maybe that is not unusual, I don't know the area. If there are other roads where this is not necessary, I would avoid using the estate agent pics that show these cars.

Zekko

It's a very well presented house, though the only thing that would personally put me off is having the bathroom on the ground floor at the opposite end of the house to the bedrooms - you have to go through the hall, kitchen and sun lounge to get there, but I guess most of the homes in this area are laid out in this way?

DarlyPaws

Thank you for the ideas! My husband is going to look into renting it out. One of the issues in North Wales is that finding a nice place to rent is very difficult as all the nice places are holiday homes. In this area, people tend to own their homes as well so the rental market is fairly small; however, I looked online and there are several nice places available. Our only issue is if we could get our current house rented out and find somewhere that will accommodate my father-in-law and our three dogs.

As to the parking, it is very common for cars to be parked on the pavement in this area. Most of the villages in North Wales are tiny and have very narrow roads so we aren't an exception at all. In my space, I have a dropped kerb.

I am torn. I really want to sell our house because I want to help my father-in-law and provide him a home where he is comfortable and looked after. However, I will be more than sad when I leave this house. I love this house, the village, the location, and my neighbours. It is such a great place to live and I have never been happier.

DarlyPaws

Zekko wrote: »

It's a very well presented house, though the only thing that would personally put me off is having the bathroom on the ground floor at the opposite end of the house to the bedrooms - you have to go through the hall, kitchen and sun lounge to get there, but I guess most of the homes in this area are laid out in this way?

Yes, it is quite common. The houses around here are quite old and it is very difficult to get the bathroom upstairs. Most people built extensions and put the bathrooms in there as that was less expensive than just moving the bathroom upstairs. I know it will put some people off. I wasn't so sure about it when we bought the house but I find it isn't an issue. We do most of our living downstairs and the bedrooms are only for sleeping and changing clothes.

It is shame the market is so horrible right now. When we bought the house, we were one of 5 bids! I think we just have to be patient. I'll look into renting it out but if that doesn't work, I'll change the things I can and hope for the best.

Blackpool_Saver

yes, I still think it's the lack of a garage, parking issues. So how are you getting on?

DarlyPaws

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

yes, I still think it's the lack of a garage, parking issues. So how are you getting on?

We have someone who might be interested in viewing as a holiday property. They are thinking it over and I'm giving them the space to do so.

The weird thing is that we had a lot of interest and several people who actually do want to buy it; however, they need to sell their property first or are having issues securing a mortgage. A lot of people are stating that they won't come to view until they either sell their property or secure financing (and I think that is totally fair). It is really frustrating.

I've asked the estate agent to say that there is an allocated parking space (we own it) at the front of the house. I hope that will help but I don't know. I also asked them to stress all the storage the house has (it is ridiculous, this house is Tardis-like!). We shall see! I'm working at changing the things I can and trying to stay positive (easier said than done). I have several friends in similar situations (and one of those houses is absolutely gorgeous and in a great location). Everything is stagnant.

I've also told myself that the next owner that will love this house as much as we have is out there. They just haven't found it yet.

Scrounger

Is the parking space on your own land?

What's to stop visitors, neighbours, strangers etc parking there?

Does this ever happen in practice?

What if the new buyers have two cars?

Scrounger

Fire_Fox

Emphasising the storage and the parking space seems a good move to me since you don't have amazing public transport. You can't please all of the people all of the time, many don't have a driveway or space for two cars.

DarlyPaws

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Emphasising the storage and the parking space seems a good move to me since you don't have amazing public transport. You can't please all of the people all of the time, many don't have a driveway or space for two cars.

Actually, our bus service is quite good because the bus company is based in the village so we are quite lucky in that respect. ETA: It isn't as good as the public transport in bigger cities but it is pretty good for a rural area. Not amazing but not horrible.

It is a good point, you can't please everyone. We have a parking space and we have lots of storage. It is a nice house. One thing I learned about buying houses (as we are looking for a new one to accommodate my father-in-law) is that you have compromise somewhere.